Cotton picker



March 18, 1930. H. N. BERRY 1,750,952

ooTToN-P1oKER Filed April 25, 1927 zsheets-sheet 1 BY Ummm ATTORNEYMarch 1s, 1930. H. N. BERRY` 13e-10,952

coTToN PICKER Patented Mar. 18, 1930 HIRAM. NEWTON BERRY, or GREENVILLE,

ivrissrssirrr, nssienon, :erl manor AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TOv(JO'FIK'jl HARVESTER CORPORATON 0F AMERGA, 0F GREENVILLE, MSSSSIYPI, ACGBJPSBATION GF DELAVIARE COTTN Application iiled April 23,

This invention relates to improvements in cotton pickers, and itconsists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements here-. indescribed and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provideA an improvement in a cottonvpicker of the spindle type by which the collection and packing ofcotton around behind certain stripper bars which clear the spindles ofcotton, is prevented. Y p

Another object of the invention is to provide movable or flexible apronsbetween the adjacent stripper 'bars of the A packingv spindles, theseaprons serving as guards to prevent the lpassage of wisps of cottonaround the stripper bars from'thevouter to the inner portions of thespindles. Y

Other objects andadvantages 4appear inthe following specification,referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a cotton picking machine cylinderillustrating the application of the aprons to the stripper bars ofthepicking spindles.

VFigure 2 is a detail horizontal section show ing the application'of anapron between adjacent stripper bars perhaps more clearly.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the clips used inconnection with the apron in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a detail yperspective view of a pair of stripper bars andthe apron therel between'as seen'from the inside.

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of one of the hingesby which an edge of thel'apron is attached to theadjacent stripper bar.v'

Figure 6 is a detail horizontal section illustrating the use of an apronmade of hinged plates. i

Figure 7 is a detail horizontal section -showing the action of the apronin Figure @when thc stripper bar is actuated. c

Figure 8 is a ldetail perspective view of a application of thehinged-plate apron.

Reference may be had tormy co-pending application for Letters Patent foryCotton pickers, filed January 14, 1926, Serial kNo. 8,134,0f which thepresent invention is an chine to have collection and jamming of cot-'100 PICKER 1927. Serial No. 186,148.

improvement. 1t is'deemed unnecessary to show and describe much of themechanism disclosed in said application, such parts ofv the cottonpicker in said application as are herein involved being brieflydescribed as follows:y Y v The cylinder 81 is one of a pair ofcylinders' revolubly mounted upon the framework of the cotton picker.Spindles 57, arranged in vertical rows around the circumference of thecylinder 81, radiate from the f cylinder as Y shown in Figure 1. Eachspindle is provided with a gear 7 5 on the eXtreme inner end, that is tosay, the end within'the cylinder 81. The spindles are geared together ingroups of three, the central one of the threegears hav ing an associatedbevelled gear r''meshing with andl being driven by a gear V71- on avertical shaft which isrot'atably mounted within the revoluble cylinder81. The same construction prevails -in thev case l of each group ofspindles. l

Stripper elements in the v.form of bars 89 strip the spindles of ythecotton collected thereby. rl`hese stripper bars move outwar il-Y ly andinwardlyupon determined rows of the spindles during revolution of thecylinderl 81 and forward passage o f the machine. It is deemedsufficient to refer to the foregoing application for a full disclosureofthe mechanism by which the stripper bars aremoved outwardly, andinwardly upon the revolving spindles,l and to `say that each stripperbar has rollers- 90 at the upper' and lower ends ridingin fixed camsl 92at the vtopand bottom, the bottom cam 92 being indicated in Figure 1.

Upon r'eference'to the foregoing application it will be found that useis made ofcertain flexible floating belts which` are disposed`horizontally between thel several rowslv y of picking spindles andimmediately adjacentl tothe outer faces of the several stripper bars 89.v The purpose of these belts is to prevent pair of the stripper barsagain showing the wisps of cotton passing'around the -stripper barsvfrom the outer to the inner portions of the spindles becausel it willobviously inter-v fere with the proper operation of the maton at thebaseslof the spindles.

'en v IVee Y provides an improvement upon the foregoing @floating belts.l It comprises aprons disposed between the verticalA stripper bars Q89.The aprons mustvbe movable to a suiiicient extent The inventionvIn'Figures l lto inclusive the apron `98 is composed of'a ilexiblestripof suitable di-v v"mensions, and of material-such as canvas,

, other sui table fabric, leather, ori-n-faetvof any substance which hasthequalification of iiexibility and the necessarystrengthV to suit'theparticular'purpos'e to which it is' put.A

" cured `at 96 to the sides ofthe adjacent strip- 1 pe'rbars '89. Inorder toprevent', undue 'ten-,f

. sionupon and? stretching of-',tfhe flexible 1 mgroinsY 98' whenstretched to the maximum. asv :it thelowe'rfleft of Figure 11,.theapronsare made somewhat oversize" sothat they` will tion'principally inthe lclosingjof the Vaprons'.

Bue `to the fact that th'e/strfpperbars' move. f relatively-fclose to`eachpother1when-arriving f at the bases ofthe spindles the apronsneces'- Vsari'l'yb'ecoine buckled..y Itis'desirable to prelvent theWrinkling-'o'fthe aprons' at this time and to causethem to assumeY amore symmetric Vand substantially V-shapje'df for'rna I tion. It isnotedthatthe clipsV 97 are'b'ent into Y a substantial Vshape. andriveted or otherr wise secured at 98 (Figfur-e 4) tofthe inside v v ofthe apron 93. Thesefvfshaped clips have the tendency of causing ktheapronsto stand v `out in fthe desired positionrand to prevent theforegoing objectionablevwrinkling. AOrdinarily three of theclips'will besuiii- Vcient vto accomplish the. purpose, although obv vious'ly'mor'e'may 'be used if desired. The* i extremities ofi-the' ,clipsareslightly enlarged v1 g andv rounded as 1h99 ythus 'onering.suffijcient?ylybroadcontacting's'urfaces to avoid damage Y' y toftheadjacentpartsfoftheapiionjpTheuse of'hinfgesl 95 in connectionV with "the flexibler'aprons is deemed to beef some-importance.

inetirmesfhappensjrthat an aproniinustbe i, e tigen dewnjfrerrnhje'stripperfbarsg This is readily afecomplshedbyznirely with;

"xhingelly con v ready been emphasized,

scribed.

cal portions thereof as at 102, they otherwise the ylateral relativemotionf'of the stripper Q bars very much onthe order of the flexibleYAYv apron k93. It is believedtobe an optional matter to use two or more'hingedlyconnect- I edf'p-lates, but by usingV the hingedl'yfeon- )nectedplates 101l vas in Figure 6Vv it seenis'evivdent that there will Ybecloser conformity to the action of the flexible apron 93 ythan ifmorethan-.two plateswere used.k In` other words, the use of two hingedlyconnected plates will permit thedesirable1li-formation i' The @wen whenadjacent stripperb'ars areinrelatively f The vertiCalfedg'e'slof thisstrip are securedf Closed* POSmOn upon the'spmdles v atlrl tothe freeleaves' of hinges 95,.,the com? y .e 8.5

plementary leavesof which hinges are seis readily understood-V ,Thedl'e-S, 577m: *Y

volve .upon their own axesI as the cylinder'l;

turns upon the,v framework of theJinach-ine.

The stripper .bars 89ffpe'rforeemust'travelf *1 c V9G.

with thespindles,`and by virtue of the fact that `the 'rollersatthe-"upper andl lowerends are guided in relatively stationarycamsfof ashape as shown in Figure 1,; it follows that the stripper bars' willmove outwardly and inwardlyupon the spindles thusto perform thestripping action-.upon any-cottoneollecta. v Y

ed by the spindles.

The aprons rbetweenithe bars,'` y' ieu." Y

tween the stripper'bars,preventing the pas- Y Y sage of wisps of cottonaroundf kvthe stripperf" kv barsjto theinner portions of the spindles.Theyease with which the guardT aprons `cangloe disassembled from thestripper bar'si hassalneed'not be repeated here.

While the construction andarrange-,ment i of the improved stripper baraprons isthat` of a generally preferred form, obviously andthe'advantages-j modifications andchanges maybe made. withl tion orscope ofthe claims. f

What Ifclaim is:

cylinder having peripherally 'outstandingl picking spindles and stripperbarsfrotatablej out departing from the spiritof-ptheinven; I

, v A ,2f-115g( l. In acotton-j picker including a picking] f with thecylinder and operating lengthwise of the spindles for'shifting thepicked cotton outwardly along the spindles; andgmeans'affv fording acomplete covering for thegspace's between the 2.' In acottonpicker,*a-picking cylinder having peripherally outstandingl jpicking spindles, meansV includingl stripper elements stripper bars forthepurposede,-`

rotatable with; the' cylinderg-and ,sperati'Iigly dles, and apronsdisposed in the spaces between said stripper elements to completelycover said spaces and prevent movement of cotton around the stripperelements from the outer to the inner portions of the-picking spindles.3. In a cotton picker, a picking cylinder having peripherallyoutstanding picker spindles, means including vertically disposedstripper bars rotatable with the cylinder and operating lengthwise ofvertical rows ot picking spindles for shifting cotton outwardly alongthe spindles, and means connected to and between adjacent stripper barsto close the space between such stripper bars to preventy accidentalmovement of cotton around the stripper bars from the outer to the innerportions of the picking spindles.

4. In a cotton picker, a revoluble picking cylinder having peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, means including stripper' bars assembledupon determined rows of picking spindles and being rotatable with thecylinder, means to guide the stripper bars causing them to moveoutwardly upon the spindles for shedding picked cotton and inwardly uponthe spindles toward the cylinder, and means attached to successivelyadjacent stripper bars providing complete closures of the spaces betweenthe stripper bars and conforming to therelative separation and closureof the stripper bars as'they move (itwardly and inwardly upon the saidspines. 5. In a cotton picker, a picking cylinder having peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, means including stripper bars assembledupon determined rows of the spindles and being rotatable with thecylinder, relatively fixed cams guiding the stripper bars over aneccentric path during revolution of the cylinder causing outward andinward movement of the stripper bars upon the spindles thereby to shedthe picked cotton, and aprons attached along parallel. edges thereof toadjacent sides of the stripper bars providing complete closures'for thespaces between the stripper bars and guarding against the passage ofcotton around the stripper bars from the outer to the inner 'portions ofthe picking spindles. i

6. In a cotton picker, a picking cylinder having peripherallyloutstanding picking spindles, means including stripper bars assembledupon determined rows of the spindles and being rotatable with thecylinder, relatively lixed cams guiding the stripper bars over aneccentric path during revolution of the cylinder causing outward andinward movement of the stripper bars upon the spindles thereby to shedthe picked cotton, and aprons of iiexible material attached alongparallel edges thereof to the sides of adjacent stripper bars to formcomplete closures of the spaces between the stripper bars for thepurpose described.

7 In a cotton picker including a picking cylinder, peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, and stripper bars revolving with thecylinder. andfoperating lengthwise of the spindles, means flexiblyuniting the stripper bars andforming therewith a substantially unbrokenwall raround and protectingv the cylinder. f 1

8.` Inl av cotton picker, a pickingjcylinder having :peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, means including vertically disposedstripperbars rotatable with vthe cylinder and operating lengthwise ofthe picking spindles tor shifting cotton outwardly along the spindles,aprons disposed between the stripper bars to form complete closuresbetween the ,stripper bars and prevent the passage of cottontherearound, and quickly detachable means by which said aprons aremounted 'upon adjacent stripper bars along the vertical edges.

9. In a cotton picker, a picking cylinder'V having peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, means including vertically disposedstripper bars rotatable with the cylinder and operating lengthwise ofthe picking spindles for shi fting cotton outwardly along the spindles,aprons disposed between the stripper bars to form closures of Vthespaces there- Y between, and hinges by which the vertical edges of theapron are connected with the sides of adjacent stripper bars, the hingepins being removable to permit quick `detachment of the aprons. i

lO.,In a cotton picker, a picking vcylinder having peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, means including vertically disposedstripper bars rotatable with the cylinder and operating lengthwise ofthe picking spindles for shifting cotton outwardly along the spindles,aprons ot' flexible material disposed between the stripper bars andproviding complete coverings for the spaces therebetween, andhingcs'having leaves joined with the edges of the apron and withadjacent stripper bars, the pins of said hinges being removable forquick detachment of one or both sides of the apron.

ll. In a cotton picker, a picking cylinder having peripherallyoutstanding picking spindles, means including vertically disposedstripper bars rotatable with the cylinder and operating lengthwise ofthe picking spindles for shifting cotton outwardly along the spindles,flexible aprons disposed between and connected with adjacent stripperbars to completely close the spaces therebetween, and means attached tothe exible aprons causing them to bend in a predeterminedmanner when thestripper bars move into proximity along the spindles.

12. In a cotton picker, a picking cylinder having peripherallyoutstanding picking-rco stripper bars rtatallefwiths eylndeltamvf-formation causing the aprons tmf beridintq n f similiarformaiem'when.the 'stripper bars mams@

